Created at Portland State University Library.
INFORMATION TIMELINE
|
Event Occurs |
|
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Within minutes |
Social Media “Breaks” the story. Info may be incomplete, false, or biased. Examples: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, blogs |
|
Within days |
News Sites, TV, Radio, & Daily Newspapers As time passes, info gets added, updated, and verified. Opinions emerge. Examples: CNN.com, Fox News, BBC Radio, New York Times |
|
Within a week |
Weekly Magazines Offers more insight. Likely to include context info, interviews, related topics. |
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Within a month |
Monthly Magazines Additional time allows for better reporting. May include opinions. Examples: Wired, Scientific American, National Geographic |
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3+ months later |
Scholarly Journals Written by experts. Well-researched and objective. Examples: Journal of American Culture, Nature, JAMA |
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12+ months later |
Books Benefits most from hindsight. Gives most in-depth coverage of topic. Examples: Nonfiction titles, biographies, textbooks ,reference materials. |
Of note: Here is a timeline-based explanation of information characteristics (and caveats) from Temple University Library.